TWU to recognize
staff at Honors Convocation

4/16/07

DENTON —
Three Texas Woman’s University staff members will be
honored for their contributions to the university during Honors
Convocation ceremonies Thursday, April 19. Convocation begins
at 10 a.m. in the Margo Jones Performance Hall, located at
Oakland and Sawyer streets on TWU’s Denton campus.

Recipients of the
Outstanding Achievement Awards must be full-time TWU employees
who have a minimum of two years of continuous service to the
university and who exhibit superior job performance and a
high degree of proficiency in their position. The TWU Award
of Excellence is presented to a full-time employee who has
a minimum of five years continuous service with TWU. The employee
should display outstanding personality traits such as loyalty,
dedication, initiative and reliability, and should demonstrate
the ability to relate well to all members of the university
community.

David Sweeten

As assistant director
for the student union, Mr. Sweeten is known for his positive
attitude and his patience, reliability and customer service.
In addition to his responsibilities running the day-to-day
operations of the TWU Student Union, Mr. Sweeten can often
be found assisting TWU students, faculty and staff with their
events.

Mr. Sweeten is
responsible for developing and coordinating the “Putting
Fore Pioneers” athletic fundraising event, which raised,
in this its third year, $929 for athletic scholarships. He
also started the tradition of “TWU night at the ballpark”
and “TWU night at the stars” so the TWU community
could enjoy professional baseball and hockey games at reduced
prices.

His nominators
— and there were many — remarked how well he works
with his customers and how willing he is to offer his assistance
at a moment’s notice. Kyle Voles, director of the TWU
Student Union, said, “David is the type of employee
who does not sit back and wait for something to happen. He
is continually seeking new ways to improve the daily functions
of the student union.”

Linda Thornton

As a custodian
at the TWU Parkland campus, Ms. Thornton always performs her
day-to-day and extra duties with a smile on her face. Whether
responding to classroom, lab or office needs or performing
special requests such as moving furniture, she is always willing
to do whatever it takes to enhance the learning environment
for students and faculty. Ms. Thornton is proud of her campus,
and that pride is reflected in the enthusiasm she brings to
everything she does.
Students, faculty and staff appreciate Ms. Thornton for being
responsible, skilled and able to solve their problems quickly
and competently. Even more, they appreciate the genuine spirit
of cooperation with which she fulfills any request. As Janet
Dalsheimer, associate clinical professor of nursing, said,
“In addition to performing her job tasks well, Linda’s
wonderful disposition is her great strength. She is always
smiling and pleasant and is a true professional.”

Stephany
Compton

Ms. Compton, a
distance learning librarian, is known as the “energizer
bunny” – she just keeps going and going and going.
Because her library patrons are distance learners who may
never set foot inside the building, Ms. Compton often puts
herself in the student’s place, doing whatever it takes
to make the distance learner’s experience a positive
one.

She frequently
volunteers her free time to train online students on the library’s
database in face-to-face orientations on evenings and weekends
— not only on the TWU Denton, Parkland and Presbyterian
campuses, but also to groups of students in Temple, Tyler,
Fort Worth and Plano. For Ms. Compton, customer service is
not just an expression — it is a way of life.

Elaine Cox, health
sciences librarian, said, “Stephany deserves the TWU
award for outstanding achievement, because she embodies everything
the university strives to produce – an untiring, diligent
professional who attacks her job responsibilities with enthusiasm,
expertise, humility and spirit.”